Airborne Full Tensor Gradiometry for water resources in the Delaware Basin

Alan Morgan, lead geophysicist at leading FTG survey business, Bell Geospace talks about the new survey of the Delaware Basin.

Recently acquired Airborne Full Tensor Gradiometry data present new opportunities for water exploration in Reeves County, Texas. Analysis of the data and field validation of the high amplitude anomalies reveal untapped water resources which could hold over 1 billion barrels of potable water. The untapped reservoir is composed of porous media ranging in size from silt to boulder sized gravels and is confined by outcropping limestone of Cretaceous age.

2.75D modelling using inputs of field samples for density contrast indicates that up to 275m of sand, silt and gravel fill over a lenticular shaped basin.

Conservative estimates using 15% porosity and using a reservoir volume calculated from a combination of 2.75D modelling and analysis of the FTG data indicate that as much as 1.2 billion barrels of water are contained within an area of 5.2 square miles. At the going rate of $1 per barrel for saline water, 1.2 billion barrels is nothing to take lightly!

For more information on how FTG can be utilized for water exploration, come see us booth 1345 at the AAPG in San Antonio! Stay tuned for more details!